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Thousands of people still in shelters 3 months after Kumamoto quakes

Xinhua, July 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Some 4,700 people were still taking refuge at shelters in Kumamoto prefecture now, three months after the severe quakes affecting southwestern Japan in April, local government said.

According to the Kumamoto prefectural government, as of July 13, there were still 4, 692 people whose home had been damaged in the quakes in April having to live in shelters. There were also a number of residents who had to live in garages or tents.

Though 16 municipal governments had made plans to build temporary housing for the quake victims, only 3631 of the houses started construction. As of July 5, only 730 families stricken by the quakes moved in.

Meanwhile, according to the prefectural labor bureau, as of July 3, it has received some 21,400 consultation cases from people and companies suffering from unemployment or loss of business due to the aftermaths of the quakes.

Earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 and 7.3 struck Kumamoto on April 14 and 16, respectively, leaving some 49 people dead. More than 100,000 residential buildings were damaged and tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate. Endit